Regular fliers have all experienced the anger and frustration of being stuck on the tarmac. With people once again taking to the “friendly” skies in greater numbers, far more delays than usual are expected. The flight you expected to be 45 minutes turns into a fist-shaking multi-hour journey. As the mood on the plane goes from bad to worse, people often wonder “Is this actually legal?”The answer that you don’t want to hear is that your tarmac hold probably is legal and, for the foreseeable future, courts may be inclined to give more leeway to the airlines than they generally would under the law.  The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has new rules about how long a plane is allowed to stay on the tarmac and under what conditions. The modification of these tarmac rules  began back in 2016 and went into effect only this year. So none of the rule changes were motivated by the pandemic. No matter what airline it is, no matter whether it’s the US- or foreign-owned carrier, a domestic flight can sit on the tarmac for no more than three hours. For international flights, the limit is four hours. There needs to be one announcement of the tarmac hold at the 30-minute mark. Then, at two hours, the rules state that passengers must be provided with water, food, and medical care on the plane if it is needed. There is also a requirement that the bathrooms on the plane are fully functional.  Finally, once the three/four-hour mark hits, passengers have the legal right to leave the plane. Often, when this happens, the flight is simply canceled because of added delays (such as the need to remove checked bags and also whatever crew working hour complications could arise). Given that this is air travel, of course, there are exceptions. The most common is where a pilot decides that the plane needs to remain on the tarmac for safety reasons. It’s also important for passengers to understand that the tarmac delay clock only starts when you are unable to leave the plane. If you’re sitting at the gate, the door is open and passengers could get off the flight, the clock has yet to start. Adriana Gonzalez, a Florida lawyer, reminds us that even where the airlines may feel they have valid reasons to extend tarmac delays, we should never lose sight of the most important issue here: “The airlines may claim that meeting all of the legal requirements for a tarmac hold is going to become, in a practical sense, very complicated, as they are cutting back on in-flight service during the pandemic. Airlines are going to need to be more flexible in responding to passengers who are in distress and need to leave the plane before the time the normal tarmac rules would apply. The health and safety of passengers have to always come first.” From the perspective of the airlines, it has become more complicated to run each flight. It’s not just the increased risk to in-flight personnel of circulating in the cabin and doing the regular service, it’s disruptions in the supply chain. Not everything that is served on flights in the quantities needed is as readily available today as it was in early 2020. While air travelers will need to be flexible where these supply issues impact only things that are nice to have (such as the usual selection of snacks or whether airlines provide alcohol in-flight), the one thing that can never be sacrificed is safety.  Every tarmac delay in the best of times sees the onboard environment become more emotionally charged every hour the plane is on the ground. To go from passengers shaking with frustration to acting out and having a volatile situation onboard is something the airlines need to be very aware of and sensitive to over the next few months. As we all try to get used to air travel again, airlines should not only follow all rules designed for passenger safety but err on the side of exceeding them.   by Aron Solomon 

Following the Government of Canada’s announcement to reopen international borders on September 7, Air Canada unveiled additional detailsof its planned Munich (MUC) – Toronto (YYZ) flight schedule.The loosening of restrictions enables foreign nationals who have been fully vaccinated with the Government of Canada-accepted vaccines (Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and J&J) at least 14 days prior and who meet specific entry requirements to enter Canada for non-essential travel.Germany also allows fully-vaccinated Canadians or those able to show a valid negtative COVID test to enter the Germany and the Schengen area . Wearing Lederhosen for the gentlemen and a Dirndl for the ladies when flying non-stop from the Bavarian Capital City of Munich to Toronto will be possible without raising eyebrows by Germans in other cities outside Bavaria like Frankfurt. Many people in Ontario, Canada, love the Octoberfest and picture Germans wearing dirndls, lederhosen, and german hats, seen as traditional German Bavarian Octoberfest clothing. Lufthansa has been connecting Germany and Canada with non-stop flights already, and the addition of Star Alliance partner Air Canada to relaunch its route from Munich non-stop to Toronto will add to this important leisure and business market. Munich, Frankfurt, and other European airports such as Vienna, Zurich, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris connect to Canada with direct and one-connect flights. Airlines and airports and the various alliances compete in this market. In addition, low-cost and charter carriers like Condor serve the German Canadian market from various airports in Germany and neighboring countries. The key airport in Germany remains to be FRAPORT (Frankfurt), but Munich in the Southern European State of Bavaria is the second most important hub to connect Germany with the world Almost all major airports are interconnected with the ICE Train system, allowing to connect major German cities and airports within hours and a speed exceeding 200 km/h. “As travel restrictions ease across the globe, we are committed to rebuild our international network and continue as a global carrier connecting the world to Canada. With Europeans eager to travel again to Canada, we are ready to reunite customers with their families and friends,” said Jen-Christophe Hérault, Regional Sales Manager Germany, Switzerland, Austria & Eastern Europe at Air Canada. Like all airlines, these days the excitement of Air Canada and Munich Airport is based on today’s situation. Therefore, Air Canada added to its press release: “Note that Air Canada’s commercial schedule may be adjusted as required based on the COVID-19 trajectory and government restrictions. Passengers are responsible for ensuring they meet allgovernment entry requirements, including holding the correct travel documents, visas, any required health certificates, and all other eligibility requirements for any flights they purchase. For the most current information, please visit our Information Hub or IATA’s Timatic website. Travel Policy: Book with confidence.Government requirements may change with little notice

An Ukrainian plane that arrived in Afghanistan on Sunday to evacuate Ukrainians has been hijacked by an unidentified group of people who flew the Ukrainian aircraft into Iran, Ukrainian Foreign minister told Ukrainian media: “Last Sunday, our plane was hijacked by other people.The plane was stolen and instead of airlifting Ukrainians, our next three evacuation attempts were also not successful because Ukrainian people could not get into the airport. According to the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, the hijackers were armed. Other evacuation flights took off with no issue. However, the deputy minister did not report anything about what happened to the plane or whether Ukraine would seek to get it back. No information was released on how Ukrainian citizens can be evacuated from Kabul onboard this “practically stolen” plane or another aircraft Kyviv could send The minister only underlined that the Ukrainian diplomatic services headed by Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba “had been working in the crash test mode” the whole week. On Sunday, a military transport plane with 83 people on board, including 31 Ukrainians, arrived from Afghanistan in Kyiv. The presidential office reported that 12 Ukrainian military personnel returned home, while foreign reporters and public figures who requested help were also evacuated. The office also added that around 100 Ukrainians are still expecting evacuating in Afghanistan.